Accessibility Standards Bill must include people with intellectual disability
IHC is calling for the proposed Accessibility Standards Bill to explicitly include people with intellectual disability after identifying a significant gap in its definition of disability.
Introduced as a Member's Bill by New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft, The Bill aims to create accessibility standards that remove barriers and improve participation for disabled New Zealanders.
IHC Director of Advocacy Tania Thomas says IHC supports the intent of the Bill but is concerned that the current definitions are too narrow.
“New Zealand needs stronger accessibility standards that make it easier for disabled people to participate in education, employment, public services and community life, but this Bill currently refers only to a ‘long-term physical or sensory impairment’. This excludes people with intellectual disability and is inconsistent with both the New Zealand Disability Strategy and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
IHC is calling for the Accessibility Standards Bill to be revised to use the UNCRPD definition, which defines a disability as: “any long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment . . .”
Tania says accessibility is about much more than physical access.
“When people think about accessibility, they often think about ramps, lifts and accessible parking. But people with intellectual disabilities also face barriers understanding information, navigating systems, communicating with services and exercising their rights. Accessibility standards must address cognitive accessibility if they are to work for everyone.”
The exclusion of people with intellectual disability is particularly concerning given the significant disadvantage this group experiences. They live, on average, around 17 years less than other New Zealanders. They are nearly seven times more likely to rely on a benefit, more than three times more likely to be imprisoned, and continue to experience poorer health, education, housing and income outcomes across almost every measure.
If the Bill is drawn from Parliament's ballot and passes its first reading, IHC will encourage its members, families and supporters to make submissions calling for the definition of disability to be amended.
"Accessibility legislation should leave no one behind. If this Bill is to become New Zealand's accessibility framework, it must recognise the needs and rights of people with intellectual disability," Tania says.
